OSI-Baltimore Launches "Talking About Race" Series

Since the historic election of the nation's first African-American president, individuals, groups and even officials at the highest levels are engaging the subject of race more often than ever before. But in Baltimore, race is rarely easily discussed.

OSI-Baltimore has boldly begun that conversation, adding "race" to its agenda of important topics to tackle by cosponsoring a yearlong speaker series, Talking About Race. The series, sponsored with the Enoch Pratt Free Library, probes how we in the United States talk (or do not talk) about race from several different perspectives, and why it is imperative that this subject be discussed openly and thoughtfully.

Below is a full list of events in the series:

Film Screening: The Black List: Volume Two

Tuesday, April 28, 7:00 p.m., Brown Center at MICA

In partnership with MICA, the Maryland Film Festival, and the Enoch Free Pratt Library, the Open Society Institute-Baltimore presented The Black List: Volume Two, an HBO documentary featuring dramatic portraits of some of today's most fascinating and influential African Americans, who share their stories and insights into the struggles and triumphs of black life in the United States. Filmmakers Timothy Greenfield-Sanders and Elvis Mitchell introduced the film and participated in a Q & A session.

Talking About Race Now: How to Build Success Without Forgetting the Struggle

 Thursday, June 4, 7:00 p.m., Main Auditorium, Enoch Pratt Free Library

Gwen Ifill of Washington Week and The News Hour and Sherrilyn A. Ifill, civil rights lawyer and law professor at the University of Maryland School of Law, discussed this pivotal moment in American history and its potential for advancing equity and social justice. Listen to an audio recording of the event.

Do We Still Need to Talk About Race?

Wednesday, September 16, 7:30 p.m., Wheeler Auditorium, Enoch Pratt Free Library

With the election of President Obama, some say race is no longer an obstacle to success and that the "American Dream" is more reality than not. At this discussion, Ben Jealous, executive director of the NAACP, and Gerald Torres, professor at the University of Texas Law School and co-author of The Miner's Canary: Enlisting Race, Resisting Power, Transforming Democracy, will challenge this assumption. Listen to an audio recording of the event.

Can We Talk About How Race Affects our Classrooms?

Monday, November 2, 7:00 p.m., Wheeler Auditorium, Enoch Pratt Free Library

Beverly Daniel Tatum, president of Spelman College and author of Can We Talk About Race? And Other Conversations in an Era of School Resegregation, which discusses how American schools are experiencing increasing and underreported resegregation, will talk with David Hornbeck, former Philadelphia Superintendent of Schools and author of Choosing Excellence in Public Schools: Where There's a Will, There's a Way, about how race plays out in our classrooms. Listen to an audio recording of the event.

How Does White America Talk About Race?

Tuesday, December 1, 7:00 p.m., Wheeler Auditorium, Enoch Pratt Free Library

Why is race still an uncomfortable subject to talk about in the United States? At this event Rich Benjamin, author of Searching for Whitopia: An Improbable Journey to the Heart of White America, and Tim Wise, author of Between Barack & A Hard Place: Racism & White Denial in the Age of Obama, will discuss white America's struggle to talk about race.

Stoop Stories

Monday, February 22, 2010, 7:00 p.m., CENTERSTAGE

In partnership with OSI-Baltimore, Stoop Stories, a theme-based performance series produced by Laura Wexler and Jessica Henkin, will present "Across the Divide: Stories about Race in Baltimore," a show about being black and white in Baltimore. The show will feature seven storytellers who get seven minutes each to tell a true, personal story about a specific theme. Audience members will also get a chance to participate.

Is America Really Post-Racial? A Screening of New Muslim Cool

Tuesday, March 2, 2010, 7:00 p.m., Brown Center, Maryland Institute College of Art

An interactive spoken word performance, film screening, and panel discussion, this event will examine the emerging worldview of a new generation of Americans. After the screening of New Muslim Cool, Bakari Kitwana, author of The Hip-Hop Generation, will moderate a panel discussion. The panel will include Nura Maznavi, staff attorney from Muslim Advocates; filmmaker Jennifer Taylor; and independent hip-hop artist MC Hamza—the subject of the film.

"Across the Divide: Stories about Race in Baltimore" Radio Series on WYPR

September 2009 - February 22, 2010, "Maryland Morning" 88.1 FM

A series of short segments entitled "Across the Divide: Stories about Race in Baltimore," produced by WYPR, will air on "Maryland Morning." The series features personal stories told about experiences around race issues that changed individuals' lives. The series will include stories from a number of prominent people as well as from listeners who submit their own stories online. To listen to stories that have already aired on Maryland Morning, visit Across the Divide: Stories About Race in Baltimore.

To submit your own story about race, visit www.storiesaboutrace.org.